Dyslexia and reading practice: what research says
There is a lot of advice about dyslexia, but only some of it is backed by research, and it's worth knowing which before you spend time and money on anything.
If your child is finding it hard to get started with reading, it's natural to look for solutions. Here is what research actually says about practice, fonts and how text is laid out, and where the evidence is still uncertain.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific difficulty with decoding words: turning letters into sounds and recognising words quickly and reliably. It is often linked to how speech sounds are processed. It has nothing to do with intelligence, and it isn't caused by laziness or by parents not reading enough.
How dyslexia shows depends partly on the language. In languages with regular spelling, such as Swedish, Finnish or Italian, dyslexia shows mainly as slow, effortful reading rather than inaccurate reading. In English, with its irregular spelling, reading errors also tend to be a larger part of the picture.
Not every child who struggles with reading has dyslexia. There can be many reasons, and only an assessment can tell.
What research says about reading practice
The firmest support is for systematic phonics: explicit teaching of how letters and sounds connect. A 2014 meta-analysis (Galuschka et al.) reviewed randomised trials of interventions for children and adolescents with reading difficulties. Phonics was the only approach with a reliable effect. That effect was moderate, not dramatic.
For fluency training, the picture is mixed:
- A 2017 meta-analysis (Lee and Yoon) found large gains in fluency when students with reading disabilities read the same passage aloud several times.
- Galuschka and colleagues, counting only randomised trials, could not confirm a reliable effect of fluency training. The evidence base was small: five comparisons.
A fair conclusion: phonics first, with repeated reading aloud as a supplement that many studies point to, even if the strongest proof is missing. No method makes dyslexia go away. Practice can make reading easier and more secure.
Dyslexia fonts don't help
Some typefaces are marketed specifically for people with dyslexia, such as OpenDyslexic and Dyslexie. They have been tested, and the results are clear:
- OpenDyslexic gave no improvement in reading rate or accuracy, and none of the children in the study preferred it (Wery and Diliberto, 2017).
- Dyslexie gave no benefit in a study of 170 children with dyslexia (Kuster et al., 2018).
A plain, clear font at a comfortable size is enough.
Letter spacing and shorter lines
Wider spacing between letters has better support than special fonts. A 2012 study (Zorzi et al.) found that children with dyslexia read better with extra-large letter spacing. Later studies trying to repeat this have given mixed results, though (Hakvoort et al., 2017; Galliussi et al., 2020). It may help some children, but it's no guarantee.
Shorter lines can also make a difference. One study (Schneps et al., 2013) found that high-school students with dyslexia who decoded poorly read faster with very short lines. That was in older students, and there are no controlled studies of showing children one word at a time. But it's cheap to try, for instance reading on a phone or tablet held sideways, or covering the rest of the page with a sheet of paper.
When to talk to the school
Talk to your child's teacher if you notice that your child, for example:
- struggles to learn letter sounds despite plenty of practice,
- reads much more slowly than children their age and isn't catching up,
- avoids reading or gets upset or angry about it,
- has relatives with reading and spelling difficulties, since dyslexia often runs in families.
The teacher can involve the school's special educational needs staff, and an assessment can follow if dyslexia is suspected. Who does that assessment differs between countries; in Sweden it is often a speech and language therapist. Early support is better than waiting to see.
Where Pagoo fits
Pagoo is an app for practising reading aloud, not a treatment for dyslexia. It draws on what has support: plenty of reading aloud to someone, or something, that listens, help with words a child gets stuck on. Wider letter spacing when reading is hard has some support, but the results are mixed. It uses no dyslexia fonts. It can be a way to fit in more short reading sessions, but it doesn't replace support from school or a specialist.
Practise reading aloud with Pagoo
Pagoo shows one word at a time and listens as your child reads aloud. The stories are free.
How Pagoo worksSources
- Galuschka, K. et al. (2014). Effectiveness of treatment approaches for children and adolescents with reading disabilities: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS ONE, 9(2).
- Lee, J. & Yoon, S. Y. (2017). The effects of repeated reading on reading fluency for students with reading disabilities: a meta-analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2).
- Wery, J. J. & Diliberto, J. A. (2017). The effect of a specialized dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic, on reading rate and accuracy. Annals of Dyslexia, 67.
- Kuster, S. M. et al. (2018). Dyslexie font does not benefit reading in children with or without dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 68.
- Zorzi, M. et al. (2012). Extra-large letter spacing improves reading in dyslexia. PNAS, 109.
- Hakvoort, B. et al. (2017). Study of increased letter spacing in children with and without dyslexia. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
- Galliussi, J. et al. (2020). Study of letter spacing, word spacing and dyslexia-friendly fonts in readers with and without dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia.
- Schneps, M. H. et al. (2013). Shorter lines facilitate reading in those who struggle. PLoS ONE.